Ramblings of an Australian Writer

Today, my guest is the delightful Cate Ashwood. Please welcome her to the blog and pop in to say hello! All yours, Cate.

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1. Welcome back to my blog, Cate. You've had quite a lot happen since we last spoke here--what's been happening since the release of "Keeping Sweets"?

As you said! A lot! Since Sweets, I’ve had a short story (Riding the Board), three novels (The Hope Cove Series) and a co-authored novella (Five Ways a Boy Can Break Your Heart) published. I’ve also bought my first home and am about to have a baby! So life has been pretty eventful, but I wouldn’t change a second of it. It’s been a fantastic year.

2. What is the most rewarding experience you have had as an author and what made it so?

I think the first time someone came up to me at GRL and told me they’d read my book, that was pretty amazing. The fact that someone actually read the words I’d written… I was pretty floored. And humbled. And blissfully excited. It was surreal and I wanted to bounce up and down and maybe do a little dance.

3. Let's talk about the book you're putting together for GRL. How did you come up with the idea and what was the feedback like for it?

I’m so excited about that! It’s essentially an anthology of short stories and excerpts from the authors attending the conference. I thought of it when I was trying to come up with ideas for swag for myself last year. I wanted something that people would want to keep, rather than just throwing away a few hours after collecting it. Readers love it because it’s a way for them to discover authors they may not have known about, and what’s a better way to decide if you want to read someone’s work than reading someone’s work? It’s great for authors because it exposes them to readers (in a G-Rated way) and encourages readers to talk to them. It’s also a fantastic souvenir for everyone who attends to have all the authors signing it.

We did one last year, and it was such a hit! We ran out of copies in just under two hours on the first day. The organizers of GRL even had a few copies signed by everyone and they were raffled off to those who couldn’t attend the conference.

4. What are you proudest of in your life?

I would have to say, where I’ve ended up in life. Ten years ago, I was on a completely different path—not a bad path, just different—but I am so happy with where I am today. I’m proud of changing careers, of becoming an author, of figuring out who I am and where my place is in this crazy world. I’m proud of my choice of partner, and proud of the choices we’ve made together as we’ve begun to build our family. I’m proud of the relationship I have with my family, and of the relationships I’ve built with friends. Finding happiness I guess would sum that all up.

5. What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?

The biggest one (other than being able to hold my books in my hands) would have to be the people I’ve met. I have become friends with so many wonderful people, and none of that would have been possible without writing. Facebook can be a bit of a time-killer these days, but it’s one I don’t mind losing a few hours to because it allows me to connect with those I’ve become so close with over the last year and a half.

6. To someone who has never read your work, how would you describe it?

Mostly sweet, light on the angst for the most part, a little bit steamy, and always a happily ever after.

7. How do you deal with negative reviews?

I honestly just try not to let them bother me. If there is something constructive written in the review, I will look a little more closely. I’m not under the false assumption that I’m perfect. There’s always more to be learned, and a well-written review can be a great way to improve on my writing. If it’s paragraph after paragraph of horribleness, on the other hand, I like to assume the person writing it is just as horrible, and move on.

8. What themes do you enjoy writing about?

I don’t know if there’s a specific theme that appeals to me. I kind of write whatever pops into my head. Lately I’ve been broadening my horizons a tad.

9. What have you learned along the way of your journey as an author?

Where do I even start? I learned the importance of having support—beta readers and friends to bounce ideas off of. Also, how important it is to have a thick skin. I knew when I started this endeavor that not everyone was going to like what I wrote. (Actually, I had such low expectations when I started, that I didn’t think anyone was going to like what I wrote), but I am not one of those people who can stay away from reading their reviews. I think reviews are incredibly important. When someone gives you a negative review, often you can learn something from it. Sure, they sting, but if you can get past the initial hurt, your writing can definitely improve from the feedback. That being said, I’ve also learned it’s important sometimes not to listen to reviews because it’s easy to put too much stock into what other people say and begin writing to please others rather than writing what’s in your heart. (Cheesy enough for you?)

10. What do you consider the most challenging about writing a novel, or about writing in general?

Lately, it’s been finding the time/motivation/energy. I have ideas floating around in my head, but when I sit down to write, the words just get stuck. It’s like the longest case of writer’s block in history!

In general though, I’ve always found writing endings to be the hardest part of the process. I’m so anxious to get to the end and see the characters find their HEA, that it’s tough not to rush through it.

11. If you were approached to have one of your novels turned into a film, which would you choose and why? Who would you want to play the main characters?

You really do ask the tough questions, don’t you? It’s so hard to choose! I would probably pick "Brokenhearted", though. I think that one would read best as a movie, and it’s the first of the Hope Cove series. As for who would play the main characters, I think I would probably choose someone unknown. I’ve always liked movies where you don’t know the actor’s quirks or mannerisms. It makes the characters a bit more real for me.

12. What are your current projects and plans for the rest of 2014?

I’m working on a new contemporary series that I have tentative plans for 4 books… the first two are partially written. I’m also hoping to finish up the sequel for Colt’s book. Skylar M. Cates and I have begun working on another co-written adventure (a novel this time). I have a couple more in the planning stages as well—another co-written project with a certain fantastic Aussie author ;) and a fantasy/paranormal novel just to try something new. It’s a lot, and who knows if I’ll get even half of it done with the baby on the way, but I’ll aim high and see what happens.

(Aw, shucks. I'm looking forward to that too! xXx –L. J.)

13. The old adage "write what you know" is something that is touted a lot - do you feel that it's true for your work? Why/why not?

To a certain extent, but not too much. There was definitely more of me in "Keeping Sweets" than any of my other books—at least with the setting. The coast of Oregon is somewhere we vacation as a family every year and it’s very familiar to me, but I would say for the most part, the subject matter in my books is fairly foreign to me. I’ve never been a gay man, I’ve never come out, or done porn, or fallen in love with a perfect stranger. I’ve never been to Maine, or played the violin professionally, and I can’t even swim very well. The particulars of my novels take research and a little imagination, but I think love is a fairly universal thing and so at the end of the day, it’s easy to write, because it’s all about the love.

14. Music is an important part of both our lives, I know - what role does music play in your writing process?

I can’t listen to music when I’m writing—I’m far too easily distracted. But if there’s a scene I’m writing and I’ve stopped halfway through and need to pick it up again, or if I need to be in a certain mood to write a scene, I’ll use music to get me there. I’ll listen to a song or two before I start writing to get myself into the right mindset.

15. Finally, the question I ask everyone I interview - if you were a plant in the next life, what would you be, and why? Last time we spoke, you chose Wisteria, with a very cool explanation. You can't choose it again, so what would you be this time?

An eggplant? I currently look a lot like an eggplant with legs!

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Five Ways a Boy Can Break Your Heart. By Cate Ashwood and Skylar M. Cates.
Blurb: When Trey and Liam meet in boarding school, they couldn’t be more different. Liam is a classical violinist with a scholarship, and Trey is a punk rocker with famous parents. Despite their conflicting backgrounds, they hit it off and bond over their love of music. But after spending every waking hour together, Liam is devastated when Trey leaves school without an explanation. Worse yet, Trey capitalizes on a song they wrote together.

Seven years later, they bump into each other at a charity benefit in New York. Old sparks fly, but Liam hasn’t quite recovered from the pain Trey caused. Liam doesn’t know if any explanation Trey can offer will be enough, or if he can find it in his heart to forgive the only man he’s ever really loved.

Buy: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4694

Ironhearted
Blurb: Hope Cove: Book Three

Haydn Prescott stood by and watched his friends fall in love, something he hopes never happens to him. It’s too much drama,thankyouverymuch. He just wants a hot guy to roll around with every once in a while. No muss, no fuss. Out for a night of dancing, he meets Trevor Ryan and the two are explosive together. The next morning, Haydn wakes up alone.

Trevor is gone and Haydn thinks he’s seen the last of him… until months later when Trevor walks into Haydn’s bakery in Hope Cove. Entanglements and complications ooze from Trevor, but Haydn can’t ignore him—Trevor won’t let him. Haydn always believed he wanted to be free and single forever, but now he’s torn: does he want to be with Trevor or should he play it safe and stick to what’s worked?

Buy: eBook http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4536 and paperback http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4537

My guest today is the lovely Rick R. Reed, talking about all kinds of things from books to food. Please make him welcome!

1. What inspired you to pen your first novel?

My first book was a horror novel about a serial killer who believed he was a vampire conducting a reign of terror on the women of Chicago called Obsessed. I think the idea for it came to me one night when I was driving in Chicago on the Eisenhower Expressway and something caught my eye about the rain-slicked pavement beneath my tires. For some reason, and because I admit to being very strange, I began to imagine a man having the same view. Except in his case, he was going home after committing a murder. Sometimes that’s all it takes to start a story—a simple image, a character, and some compelling fact. Here’s the opening to the book, so you can see how a single idea morphed into a novel:

Joe MacAree had just murdered a woman, and all the things he felt when he killed the other four he was feeling right now. How would he describe it? In his journal, he might call his feelings an “elevation of the senses” or “an ethereal quality bringing the world into sharp focus.”

After each killing the reaction was the same. There was a moment of sharp pain right behind his left eye, an instant where the pain was so intense as to block out the act he had just committed, the blood and the ripped flesh…then a moment where brilliant flecks of silver light swam before him, and he could not keep his eyes from rolling, trying to follow the patterns the stars made.

And then the clarity.

As he guided his light blue Honda Accord along Harlem Avenue just south of Chicago, everything seemed more alive, as if to contrast the death he had just brought about. He noticed things he never noticed: the shifting red, amber, and turquoise of the reflections the stoplights made on the rain-slicked pavement. He noticed how the color spread, muted, over the slick black roadway. Even his radio, usually sounding tinny tuned to WLS, seemed more vibrant. He heard the different instruments in “Hungry Like the Wolf” as if Duran Duran were in the car with him, playing. Although it was February and his windows were rolled shut, he listened to the sounds of the other cars, the hiss of their tires on the pavement, the bass of their engines. He felt each perforation on the cover of the steering wheel. He thought he could even sense the mechanical smell of his own and the other cars as they all made their way northeast, to the Eisenhower Expressway and the city.

And in his mouth, he savored a slight metallic taste.

2. What are you proudest of in your writing?

Lately, I would say the ability to touch my own heart and emotions with what I write and then (hopefully) transfer that touch to readers.

3. If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in any of your books?


Oh God, yes. What writer wouldn't? Whenever I go back, I always see ways I think I could have said it better, portrayed it better, gotten new ideas. The upside of that is that it show progress because I like to think I learn and improve with every book I write. When I stop seeing that growth, then maybe I'll stop.

4. How do you deal with writer's block?

I don't believe in it, so don't deal with it. In my opinion, it's yet another excuse. I have always had more ideas than I have time, so writer's block just doesn't apply. It's for sissies.


5. To someone who has never read your work, how would you describe it?

That's hard because my work ranges from mysterious to horrifying to comic to deeply romantic. I suppose since I am currently writing more romance than anything else I would describe it as universal--I try to make my love stories real and ones in which the reader can nod and say, "Oh, I certainly get that!" because they've been there before. I would hope that my work, above all, makes an emotional connection with my readers.

6. How do you deal with negative reviews?


Ah, it's part of the game. If I look at them at all, I try to see if I can learn anything from them. If not, I try to shrug and move on (easier said then done, my dear!).

7. What themes do you enjoy writing about?

First love. I really enjoy portraying that moment when two people just know they were meant for each other. I also like, as I alluded to above, adding a dash of realism into my stories. I have covered tough subjects like AIDS, child abuse, hate crimes and more in my fiction and I hope that stories with darker subject matter will not only open some eyes, but will also show that love can arise from tragedy. Love can heal.

8. What were your feelings when your first novel was accepted? And when you first saw the cover of the finished product?

Geez, that was over twenty years ago, so it's hard to say. I was thrilled, I'm sure. I also probably thought I was poised to be the next Stephen King (my first book, Obsessed, was published in Dell's groundbreaking horror line Abyss, which even Mr. King himself praised).

The cover was an original painting and was really dark and, I think, mesmerizing, so I was quite happy with it.

9. If you could meet anyone from your life living or dead, but not a celebrity, who would it be and why?

I don't want to meet any dead people, on account of the smell. I'm not sure how to answer this because you say "from my life" but then I haven't met them. How can I meet someone, not a celebrity, who is from my life? If they're from my life, I assume I would have met them already. That question is too tough for me, Star! I'm just a simple boy from Ohio.

(--LOL! XD -L. J.)

10. One of my favourite questions to ask and to answer - fantasy casting! You've sold the movie rights to your latest novel and have total creative control on casting. Who do you cast as your leading characters?

For Legally Wed, I would cast Jake Gyllenhall as Dylan and perhaps Jesse Tyler Ferguson as his love interest (he already has the red hair and beard). As far as the best friend, Marilyn, I'd love to see what Melissa McCarthy would do with the role.

11. Are you working on any books/projects that you would like to share with us?

I have a new book coming out next month from Dreamspinner called Dinner at Home. It combines my two greatest passions, romance and food (and...it includes recipes!). Here's the blurb:

It only takes a few days for Ollie D'Angelo to lose his boyfriend, his job, and his home. Instead of mourning what he doesn’t have, Ollie celebrates what he does: the freedom to pursue his real passion—cooking. He begins Dinner at Home, a home-catering business, and it takes off.

Late one night, Ollie catches Hank Mellinger, a street-wise hood down on his luck, about to rob his car. Ollie soon discovers that appearances aren’t necessarily what they seem. Hank isn’t a criminal caught red-handed but a hungry young man trying to make a life for himself and the four-year-old niece he’s trying desperately to take care of.

Instead of calling the cops, Ollie offers Hank a job and a way to pull himself up by his bootstraps. Together, they discover they can really cook... and that their shared passion for food just might lead to a passion for each other.

12. What is your favourite room to write in? Do you have any little rituals or quirks that you do while you write/prepare to write?

I write in my home office and have my desk positioned so I can turn my head and look out at Seattle's gorgeous Lake Union and beyond, the Cascade mountains. Rituals? Procrastinating until I can no longer make excuses for not getting down to it!

13. What do you do to unwind and relax?

I love stories. So movies, plays and book all are a huge part of my life. Other than that, I do love to cook and nothing makes me happier than being in the kitchen with a glass of wine, some good music, and the ingredients for a great meal.

14. What dreams have been realised as a result of your writing?

Just the fact that I can at last call myself a professional writer...and mean it.

15. Finally, the question I ask everyone I interview - if you were a plant in the next life, what would you be, and why?

Cannabis, so I could help people relax...and laugh.



Bio:

Rick R. Reed is all about exploring the romantic entanglements of gay men in contemporary, realistic settings. While his stories often contain elements of suspense, mystery and the paranormal, his focus ultimately returns to the power of love. He is the author of dozens of published novels, novellas, and short stories. He is a three-time EPIC eBook Award winner (for Caregiver, Orientation and The Blue Moon Cafe). Lambda Literary Review has called him, "a writer that doesn't disappoint." Rick lives in Seattle with his husband and a very spoiled Boston terrier. He is forever "at work on another novel."

Web: http://www.rickrreed.com
Blog: http://rickrreedreality.blogspot.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rickrreedbooks
Twitter: www.twitter.com/rickrreed.
E-mail: jimmyfels@gmail.com

Dinner at Home -- Pre-order Now! eBook and paperback.

Blurb:

It only takes a few days for Ollie D'Angelo to lose his boyfriend, his job, and his home. Instead of mourning what he doesn’t have, Ollie celebrates what he does: the freedom to pursue his real passion—cooking. He begins Dinner at Home, a home-catering business, and it takes off.

Late one night, Ollie catches Hank Mellinger, a streetwise hood down on his luck, about to rob his car. Ollie soon discovers that appearances aren’t necessarily what they seem. Hank isn’t a criminal caught red-handed, but a hungry young man trying to make a life for himself and the four-year-old niece he’s trying desperately to take care of.

Instead of calling the cops, Ollie offers Hank a job and a way to pull himself up by his bootstraps. Together, they discover they can really cook... and that their shared passion for food just might lead to a passion for each other.


Legally Wed

Blurb:

Love comes along when you least expect it. That’s what Duncan Taylor’s sister, Scout, tells him. Scout has everything Duncan wants—a happy life with a wonderful husband. Now that Seattle has made gay marriage legal, Duncan knows he can have the same thing. But when he proposes to his boyfriend Tucker, he doesn’t get the answer he hoped for. Tucker’s refusal is another misstep in a long line of failed romances. Despairing, Duncan thinks of all the loving unions in his life—and how every one of them is straight. Maybe he could be happy, if not sexually compatible, with a woman. When zany, gay-man-loving Marilyn Samples waltzes into his life, he thinks he may have found his answer.

Determined to settle, Duncan forgets his sister’s wisdom about love and begins planning a wedding with Marilyn. But life throws Duncan a curveball. When he meets wedding planner Peter Dalrymple, unexpected sparks ignite. Neither man knows how long he can resist his powerful attraction to the other. For sure, there’s a wedding in the future. But whose?

Buy Links for Legally Wed

Dreamspinner Ebook: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4531
Dreamspinner Paperback: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4532
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Legally-Wed-Rick-R-Reed-ebook/dp/B00HNXIT5U/
Amazon Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Legally-Wed-Rick-R-Reed/dp/1627982043/
AllRomance eBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-legallywed-1387389-149.html

Today, my guest is the bubbly and delightful Raine O'Tierney. Please welcome her to the blog! Take it away, Raine!



When and why did you begin writing?

I began writing in the third grade when I—like the smartass kid I was—read a short story a classmate wrote and thought, “I could write a way better narrative about bubblegum!” I wrote all through high school (mostly in math class!) in spiral-bound notebooks. Het romances and dystopias exclusively. Then I really found my calling in ’04 when I started sampling the gateway drug: yaoi. Didn’t take long before I was writing my own M/M stories, trying to fill the world with a whole lot o’sweetness.

Who or what has influenced your writing, and in what way?

My husband, Siôn, has probably been the biggest influence on my writing. When I’m being lazy with plot or sticky with characterization, he’s the first to point it out. He’s also the first to praise me for well-crafted prose and to sit and have long plotting sessions with me. I’ve become a better writer because of his encouragement, expectations, belief, and general all-around awesomeness.

What's your favourite genre to read and to write?

My favorite genre to read is a toss-up between YA-SciFi and Adult Regency Romance. I write M/M rom exclusively, but my secondary genre changes all the time. My active stories involve two contemporaries, a weird west, and a paranormal.

We share a love of books and reading in general, what was it about that love that led you to become a librarian?

I always saw the library as one of those jobs that you could really be proud to have. When you work for the library you know you’re doing good for your patrons and you’re serving a fundamental need in your community. It was my dream to be a part of that and I’ve been lucky for the last seven years because my keep-a-roof-over-my-head job has also been that dream job.

Another thing we share is an interest in UrbEx and Abandoned Places. What are some places you've visited? Which ones would you like to visit?

The coolest place I’ve found nearby is the Norman School in Kansas City, which went the way of most schools in KC after they lost their accreditation. I stumbled on it completely by accident one day while driving around old KC neighborhoods.

I have a special fondness for dead malls and would love to take a tour of some of the remaining malls that haven’t been redeveloped. My wildest dream, for many reasons, would be to explore Chernobyl though.

What do you do when you get hit with the dreaded writer's block?

Walk a dachshund or take a shower or a drive, I get the best ideas when I’m distracted.

So what are you working on at the moment?

I’m working on my free fiction for the M/M romance Goodreads group and gearing up for Camp NaNoWriMo. I’ll be writing a sequel to Sweet Giordan, Please Remember about Shane Devereaux’s best friend Julian Bentley.

Is there anything that you've always wanted to do but haven't?

Get a tattoo. I promised myself that I would when I finished my first novel, and then I promised myself I’d do it when I got published, and now it’s just lingering in my head. I’m really fraxxin’ scared of needles though.

What is your favorite quote, by whom, and why?

I’m certainly not what you would call a religious person (like…at all), but right now I’m enjoying “She is clothed in strength and dignity and laughs without fear of the future” from Proverbs. I’m also very fond of “I must become a lionhearted girl, ready for the fight” from Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up) by Florence + the Machine.

Do you have any heroes and/or inspirations? Who and why?

My friend Lisa is my hero. She taught me about grace and forgiveness. She taught me how to genuinely care about people, to move past petty hurts, to think rationally, and to love with an open heart. She’s the rational voice that says, Raine, you can’t write every story at once… and Raine, you make your own definitions of success.

Are you reading any interesting books at the moment?

Yes… but it’s het… Sarah MacLean’s No Good Duke Goes Unpunished. I went to MacClean’s talk about ‘Romance as a Feminist Genre’ before RT Convention last year when she was in Kansas City and fell immediately in love with her.

How would you like to be remembered?

As someone who always had something positive and encouraging to say. I’d like to be known for lifting people up and celebrating their creativity.

What is your favourite room to write in? Do you have any little rituals or quirks that you do while you write/prepare to write?

I have this fantastic writing cove in the back bedroom. I’ve got my Royal Arrow typewriter, my 20 gallon fish tank, my apothecary set, B&W urban decay photography, dried flowers, all the things to create an amazing ambiance! And as far as rituals, I always wear my writing pants. I cannot write without those pants—the words just won’t come. (Super soft gray sweats!)

Finally, the question I ask everyone I interview—if you were a plant in the next life, what would you be, and why?


Husband says I’d be Kudzu so I could take over the world, but I think I’d like to be a Maypop because they are so unique and they remind me of good times in my childhood with my PawPaw.

(Thank you for having me, L. J.!)

Blurb
Sweet Giordan, Please Remember by Raine O'Tierney

Giordan Stone is lucky, all things considered. Sure, he spent five years in a coma only to wake with a right leg that’s practically useless and no memories other than his name. But now he’s under the care of sassy southern surrogate mother, Chloe Devereaux, spending his days painting and healing. Giordan wants for nothing at all… until he looks out the window one morning and sees Chloe's gorgeous son, Shane, standing there. Something very familiar stirs in Giordan.

When he sketches, Giordan is able to go into an “art trance” where pieces of disjointed memory come back to him without time or place. More and more of these flashes are of Shane Devereaux and the intense, intimate experiences they shared together. Even though Shane keeps his distance now, Giordan is convinced his flashes are real. But he doesn’t have the whole story. Giordan is determined to fill in his memory blanks and convince Shane his feelings are genuine.

Excerpt

Outside, the light of the morning was a gentle white. He was ready to go with Chloe to the orchard and paint anything and everything. Maybe she’d take him all the way down to the end of the lane so he could sit near the creek that separated the Devereaux’s property from county land.

Giordan was daydreaming about smearing blues across fresh canvas when something down below caught his eye. He looked closer.

His cane slipped through loose fingers, but he didn’t hear it clatter to the wood floor. He didn’t hear anything. Suddenly, his whole attention was intensely focused on a man standing down on the walk. He was talking seriously with Chloe’s husband, Mr. Devereaux.

Giordan couldn’t have torn his eyes away if they’d been burning, because something about the man he saw there was familiar and that familiarity strained against the mental veil. A hot feeling spread over him, and he flushed, at once both embarrassed and curious. He wanted to throw open the window and call out to this stranger, but of course, he didn’t know his name. What in the world was happening to him? Did he know the man standing below?

Giordan opened his mouth and raised his fists to the pane to call attention to himself when Chloe caught his arm and placed the cane back into his hand.

He’d never seen the look on her face before, and it startled him into obedient silence. She placed a finger to her lips and motioned him back to his bedroom. Giordan snuck one final look at the man standing outside before Chloe hurried him on, faster than his aching side wanted to go. That deep, familiar feeling lingered inside him, and Giordan felt achingly disappointed at his missed opportunity.

“Maman, who is that?” Giordan asked once she’d shut his door.

Her look softened and she placed a gentle hand against his cheek. “That’s my son, Shane.”

“Shane,” Giordan repeated. He was hoping once he had a name to go along with the handsome face that memories would flood in and everything would become clear. “But I know him, right?” he begged, certain she would confirm it. Seeing Shane’s face was like the trances Giordan went into when he drew: too familiar not to be real.

Chloe took one long, slow breath and replied, “Ah, not anymore, honey. It’s been a long time.”

“Well, then I’d like to meet him. I-I should reintroduce myself!”

“Giordan, I….” Chloe’s hesitation, much like the expression she’d had on her face, quieted him. She didn’t want them to meet. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”


Buy links
DSP: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=55_1024
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Giordan-Please-Remember-OTierney-ebook/dp/B00J3JJTFQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395358570&sr=8-1&keywords=Sweet+Giordan
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-sweetgiordanpleaseremember-1453078-149.html
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sweet-giordan-please-remember-raine-otierney/1118935103?ean=2940149452255

Bio
Raine O’Tierney is an always-writing, boundlessly enthusiastic, exclamation point addict! (!!!) She is known for declaring every day “the best day EVER!” and everything her “all-time FAVORITE!” Despite this (obnoxious?) exuberance, she still somehow manages to have a wonderfully encouraging husband and writing partner, Siôn, and an amazing group of friends and colleagues who continue to support (read: put up with) her. Raine spends her days working as a library lady, fighting the good fight for intellectual freedom.

Website and social media links
Website: http://raineotierney.com/
E-mail: Raineotierney@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RaineOTierneyAuthor
The Hat Party (LGBT Author Interviews) http://raineotierneyhatparty.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @RaineOTierney
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/RaineOTierney

So "Noah" is out. I haven't seen it yet, but I plan to. I'm interested particularly in how Darren Aronofsky handles this, as from everything I've read about it, this vision of the story is based on the Apocryphal books of the Bible, rather than what is in the Bible today. The book from the Apocrypha that is relevant is the Book of Enoch, which talks specifically about the nature of angels and those angels who were sent to Eden to watch and guide humanity--The Watchers, aka the Grigori--led by Semjaza, and how those angels developed a desire for human women and fathered children with them--the Nephilim.

Semjaza is in the film, played by Nick Nolte, which I find an intriguing choice, so I'm quite interested to see how he does in the role. In the Archangel Chronicles books, particularly No Shadows Fall, I've written Semjaza as being wholly self-absorbed and completely obsessed with his goals of running Earth and claiming Ishtahar back as his wife, along with his Nephilim sons, Hiwa and Ahijah. In No Shadows Fall, I've written Ishtahar as being unwilling to return to him and his sons not wanting to have anything to do with him.

The Watchers appear in "Noah" as beings of stone who guard Methuselah because he helped them. This is also from the Apocrypha. I chose not to devle too deeply into early Biblical theory for the Archangel Chronicles, because I didn't want to get bogged down in theology and theological debate at the expense of the story I wanted to tell. The romance between Gabriel and Michael is the primary story and the trials and challenges they face are the things that bind them closer together, and in turn, bring them closer to the rest of the Brotherhood of Archangels. The secondary romances, Uriel and Raziel, Ishtahar and Remiel, Lyudmila and Piotr, Kokabiel and Baraqiel, and, introduced in The Wind-up Forest, Liam and Baxter, Declan and Angelique, Lily and Danny, Minnie and Max, are just as important. They are in the story to illustrate that all love and romance is important and that the capacity for love that sentient beings possess is what distinguishes us.

"Noah" is therefore interesting to me as something featuring characters that I've written about and loved, hated and felt indifferent about; it's a film I want to see because of its relationship to the Apocrypha and because of the ongoing story about angels and humans and how the divine reacts and interacts with the mortal.


The Wind-up Forest
Blurb: Sequel to No Shadows Fall
Archangel Chronicles: Book Four

Archangel Gabriel is hoping for a quiet period in his life to enjoy his relationship with Archangel Michael, but someone has other ideas.

New dangers arise when the Holy Grail is stolen. Gabriel, Michael, and the rest of the Brotherhood of Archangels and their allies must somehow thwart the twisted desires of the thief.

Their search for the Grail takes them all over the world, calling on old friends like Uriel and Raziel, and forging powerful new alliances. Though they face a fresh set of perils in pursuit of the thief, the enduring comfort Gabriel needs so much, that of his beloved Michael, never abandons him.

Ebook | Paperback.

The Archangel Chronicles

Book One: No Quarter.
Book Two: No Surrender, No Retreat.
Book Three: No Shadows Fall.

About: Archangel Gabriel, Archangel of War and Sanctification, has developed feelings for Archangel Michael, chief of the Brotherhood of Archangels. Discovering these feelings are returned, Gabriel sets out to woo Michael, and the two fall deeper in love as their relationship blooms. But the path of love is never easy, even for an Archangel, and there are many dangers and tests to face and overcome. From Archdemons, Lucifer, and war to murderous angels, egomaniacs wanting to become supreme dictator of Earth and more, there is a new trial to overcome.

With their Brotherhood, the rest of angelkind and allies, including shifters, witches, shamen, and Michael's elite squad of shifters called the Venatores, and a small group of Archdemons, Michael and Gabriel face each new challenge head on, determined not to fall and not to lose each other and their love.

The Whole Series in Ebook and Paperback.


Link of the Now: Learn Chinese at the BBC. A great resource to learn Chinese online. It's not updated any more, but it's archived, so it's still a great place to start.

I'm over at the lovely Raine O'Tierney's place today, talking about all sorts of things, and there's a photo of me wearing my Akubra hat and one of my favourite t-shirts. It says 'YAAARN' and has a skull and crossbones on it, done in a ball of yarn and knitting needles! So come along and chat, over here!

I'm at Rick Reed's food blog today, talking about my father's delicious (and buttery, garlicky) roast chicken and potatoes. There's also an excerpt from "The Wind-up Forest." So do drop by and say hi!

Thanks again to Rick for having me, it was great to be able to share one of my family's traditional recipes.

Do stop by for dinner!

I did say it was Fiction February!

Release day!

Rocking Hard, Vol. 2

Less Than Three Press presents the second of three volumes of amazing stories along the theme of rock 'n roll. Authors familiar and new combine for a collection of stories all about music and love.

-- Fallen Angel | Kayla Bain-Vrba
-- My Truest Love | Mell Eight
-- Capsicum Head | L.J. LaBarthe
-- Song of the Soul | Cassandra Pierce
-- Acceptance | Alessandra Ebulu

Get it here!

I've been sent to Tumblr jail! Okay, I'm not sure that's the right term, but for some reason unknown to me, my starkiller23 tumblr and tumblr itself no longer recognises my email--any email that is mine. I am... peeved about this. So, I threw my hands up in the air and made a new tumblr. Bear with me while I refollow you all, if I miss someone, please do follow me and I'll follow you back. :)

This means, sadly, that I've also lost control of the Daniel Craig fan tumblr, which also peeves me greatly. I'll sort out a new one later. Sigh. ANYHOO.

So, new tumblr... *drum roll*... is http://dreadpiratestarkiller.tumblr.com/

And now, release day!!!

Ice. Koby is a graduate student specializing in the cohabitation of dead and living cells in a single body, a course of study that requires he spend two years working in the labs at the parium mines in Antarctica, where he will assist in experiments conducted on the vampire prisoners kept there. Expecting little more than a tedious assignment, despite the dangers of the environment and the dangerous vampires sentenced to the mines for life, Koby instead discovers a dome of horrors, where the persons in charge cannot be trusted and the greatest victims are the prisoners—and the most incongruous place to discover a new love. If he cannot solve the problems destroying the dome from the inside, the vampires won't be the only ones to die. Buy it: Here.

I hope you all had a very happy Christmas and new year. Welcome to 2014! Here's hoping that this is a much better—happier, safer, healthier—year for everyone. I have finished moving house, although I still have one box left to unpack, and I'm still living on very limited internet, which makes me a very sad person. I'm hoping the internet issue will be resolved in a good way very soon, but for now, I'm in a holding position and waiting and hoping.

Over the end of December and now into January, I have been working on edits of books in "The Archangel Chronicles." Second editions with substantial edits in terms of tightening up the narrative, new scenes and dialogue and overall cleaning up the story have been released of the first three books, No Quarter; No Surrender, No Retreat and No Shadows Fall, and are now available for purchase. This is all leading up to the second trilogy in the series, which will be released through 2014.

The first book of the second trilogy is The Wind-Up Forest. This is book four of the series and the blurb reads: Archangel Gabriel is hoping for a quiet period in his life to enjoy his relationship with Archangel Michael, but someone has other ideas. New dangers arise when the Holy Grail is stolen. Gabriel, Michael, and the rest of the Brotherhood of Archangels and their allies must somehow thwart the twisted desires of the thief.

Their search for the Grail takes them all over the world, calling on old friends like Uriel and Raziel and forging powerful new alliances. Though they face a fresh set of perils in pursuit of the thief, the enduring comfort Gabriel needs so much, that of his beloved Michael, never abandons him.

Book five is The Crystal Lake, and book six is The Bone Cup. I've ventured into Arthurian Legend with this trilogy, as that's a whole set of mythology that I've always adored and been fascinated by. There are a lot of ties to angels within those legends, too, which is great when one is writing about angels!

What is most interesting, I think, are the new characters. This trilogy picks up where the first left off, placing it around the year 2085. The Venatores, the elite force of shifters that are trained and led by Michael feature more prominently, and so do some of the residents of Hell and Purgatory. The new characters were a lot of fun for me to write and develop. I'm currently working on the third trilogy, and many of these new characters are in the third trilogy, too. Of course the angels and Archangels are all there, too—it wouldn't be "The Archangel Chronicles" without them!

So who's new? Well, here's a short list.

Primary New Characters.
Angelique: Alpha of a Venatores pack. Formerly US Air Force and is of Mexican descent, raised in Texas. Her shifter shape is a dark gray wolf.
Lily: Beta of Angelique’s pack, is an Englishwoman, formerly of the British Army. Her shifter is a grey wolf, and she is married to Danny, another member of the pack.
Baxter: Kappa of Angelique’s pack. Formerly a US Marine, suffering PTSD. His shifter shape is an Arctic white wolf.
Danny: Kappa of Angelique’s pack. Also a former US Marine, born and raised in Georgia. His shifter shape is a grey wolf, and he is married to Lily, another member of the pack.
Riley: Omega of Angelique’s pack and the pack medic. Formerly a US Marine medic. His shifter shape is a red rock wolf.
Declan Jones: Shifter and older brother of Liam. Raised in Puerto Rico, he and his brother were both taught the ways of magic, Hoodoo and Santeria by their guardians, a Hoodoo priestess named Selana and her husband, Jack. During the Seventy Years War, Declan in the US Army for some years.
Liam Jones: Necromancer and younger brother of Declan, raised in Puerto Rico, and educated in the same things as his brother by their guardians. He is one of the strongest necromancers alive in the world. Worked as a police officer before he and Declan set out together to work as demon trackers.
Minnie: An Australian witch. Formerly a thief, known as No-Hands Minnie.
Max/Mobius: Extremely talented hacker known for being able to dig up hidden information. His partner is Minnie, and he lives with her and their cat.
Lilith: The first wife of Adam, and prior to that, the consort of God Himself, Lilith is the first scorned woman and the first woman to say no to a man. After she left Adam, she wandered in the wilderness and mothered giants, the monsters of ancient mythology. Originally named Lilitu by the Akkadians, she met Lucifer in the desert and they spent a long time in conversation. Lilith is the oldest of the Four Sisters of Succubi. Agrat, Eisheth, and Naamah are her sisters. Her titles are: Consort of Lucifer, Eater of Infants, The First Adulteress, Consort of Yahweh, Mother of Giants.
Secondary New Characters.
Camael: An Angel of War under the command of Gabriel.
Asaf: Angel of Evening Hymns. Under the command of Gabriel.
Vel: Angel of Wednesday. Under the command of Gabriel.
Arkady: A Russian shifter. Has ulterior motives to what he says and is as slippery as a fish.
Olga: A Russian shifter.
Vasily: A Russian shifter.
Larissa: An Armenian shifter.
Horace: A member of the Order of Midnight, an extremely expensive group of assassins.
Anna: Venatores, Russian, lives in the building owned by Michael in Oregon. She is a wolf shifter, mother to two young children, and married to Robert.
Robert: Venatores, American, lives in the building owned by Michael in Oregon. He is a fox shifter, father to Anna’s children, and married to Anna.
Eisheth: Youngest of the Four Succubi Sisters, spent her time living among the stars, comforting those who fell to earth as they died.
Naamah: One of the Four Succubi Sisters, she used to live in the seas of the Earth, but moved to Purgatory during the Seventy Years War. Has two children, twins, whose father is unknown. Her twin children are named Arthur and Morgana, after the Arthurian legends.

I've been working hard with Lynn and Erika from Dreamspinner Press, and while the editing has been intense, it's been really good and I've really enjoyed the whole process. I came to a conclusion that I'd been rolling around in my head during the edits, and I'd like to share that with you all now. The best way to view the series as a whole is in sets of three, or seasons. So the first trilogy has the theme of coming together and being united; the second trilogy has the theme of the Holy Grail; and the third trilogy (which I'm working on) has the theme of isolationism and prejudice and fighting against those. The underlying theme of all sets of three is the Seventy Years War and its aftermath. So each set of three is slightly different in point-of-view and narrative structure, with different elements of magic and romance added into the story as well.

So where to get 'em? Link time! And don't you guys love the gorgeous covers Anne Cain did for me? I'm so thrilled with them, they're beautiful.
No Quarter: eBook | Paperback.
No Surrender, No Retreat: eBook | Paperback.
No Shadows Fall: eBook | Paperback.
The Wind-Up Forest: Watch the coming soon page for this and The Crystal Lake and The Bone Cup.

It's done for another year. I finished my NaNo on time, and although I haven't actually finished the book (I blame the rush of packing to move house for that), I did meet the word count for NaNo. 58386 words on book 8 of the Archangels Chronicles, A Fire in the Heart.

Not much left to write, and I must say that this has been the least pleasant writing experience for me. This is, again, due to moving issues. It's difficult to concentrate on your book when stressing about all the moving related stuff and being interupted by things related to moving! I will be VERY glad when that's all done, so I can sit down and get back to the business of writing and not having to pack up boxes and sort out what I'm keeping and what I'm throwing out/giving to friends/donating to charity in between paragraphs!